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By Rita Okoye
Newcastle disease (ND) is quietly but relentlessly affecting Nigeria’s egg supply, inflicting losses measured in billions of naira as outbreaks suppress laying rates, deform shells, and raise mortality even in vaccinated flocks, yet the cause of this damage has often been overlooked: endocrine disruption that alters calcium metabolism precisely when layers need it most.
In a landmark investigation published in the Nigerian Veterinary Journal, Dr. Latifat A. Adekunle reframed the ND problem from a purely infectious threat to a coupled infection-endocrine–nutrition crisis, showing how the virus alters mineral balance and hormone signaling necessary for yolk formation and shell deposition.
Using previously vaccinated 22-week-old ISA Brown layers experimentally challenged intranasally with the Kudu 113 NDV strain, she investigated the disease mechanism: by day three post-infection, birds displayed anorexia, ruffled feathers, greenish diarrhea, and, most consequential for producers, misshapen, small, discolored-shelled eggs, with defects most pronounced in the second and third weeks.
Serum chemistry and haematology provided more insight into clinical signs resulting in loss of income: plasma calcium and phosphorus concentrations declined from onset of infection through day 18, while oestrogen and parathormone rose in tandem, a compensatory hormonal push to rescue calcium homeostasis amid viral stress; significant anaemia by day six confirmed a systemic hit that can further suppress feed intake, resilience, and production.
This is not an academic detail; it is the map of why vaccinated flocks still come down with ND waves: the virus doesn’t just make birds sick; it hijacks the hormone-mineral axis that converts feed into marketable eggs.
The practical implication, and the solution Dr. Adekunle advances, is straightforward and scalable: keep vaccination as the frontline defense, but pair it with endocrine-aware nutrition so the flock’s biology can withstand infection shocks.
That means timely access to highly available calcium targeted to shell-building windows, adequate vitamin D₃ and essential trace minerals to support absorption and shell matrix formation, and rapid, pre-agreed farm protocols that trigger supplementation the moment early warning signs such as shell roughness, whitening, size reduction, or feed-intake drops appear.
Because these adjustments leverage existing feed and management systems, they are low-cost and feasible for smallholders as well as integrators; on the ground, this translates into more saleable eggs, fewer culls, quicker recovery of lay after an outbreak, and steadier cash flow for households, many of them headed by women who depend on daily egg sales.
Dr. Adekunle’s methodology careful clinical observation linked to haematology and serum chemistry using advanced analyzers gives decision-makers confidence to institutionalize this approach: state veterinarians and extension officers can embed endocrine-aware nutrition in ND advisories; feed mills can offer rapid-deploy “ND response” premixes (calcium plus D₃ and key trace elements) ready for use during peak lay and outbreak seasons; producers can train staff to recognize shell-quality red flags and act immediately, rather than waiting for production charts to crater.
At the policy level, reinforcing vaccine quality and cold chain remains essential, but nutrition must be recognized as a co-equal pillar of ND resilience; modest investments in regional diagnostic capacity for basic serum panels will pay for themselves by enabling targeted interventions that prevent prolonged dips in output.
The relevance extends well beyond Nigeria: ND remains a top constraint in many poultry-dependent economies, and the mechanism Dr. Adekunle illuminates viral disruption of hormonal control over calcium applies across breeds and production systems, making the combined vaccination and endocrine-informed nutrition a global template for stabilizing egg supply. By connecting pathophysiology to farm-gate practice, her work turns a devastating disease into a manageable risk: producers gain a clear checklist (maintain immunization, monitor shell cues, fortify calcium strategically, support D₃ and trace minerals, reduce concurrent stressors), while governments and industry gain levers (extension training, premix availability, basic lab access) that magnify impact at scale.
In short, Adekunle’s research doesn’t just explain why ND reduces profit; it shows how to ameliorate the loss, protecting Nigeria’s eggs, improving rural incomes, and advancing the shared aims of poverty reduction and food security embodied in SDG 1 and SDG 2, in Nigeria and ND-endemic regions worldwide.
